Stronger Reporting and Management Structure Would … · Stronger Reporting and Management Structure Would Improve State Bureau of ... SBI Vehicle Management Structure ... SBI’s

Program Evaluation Division North Carolina General Assembly 1

Stronger Reporting and Management Structure Would Improve State Bureau of

Investigation Vehicle Oversight

A presentation to the Joint Legislative Program Evaluation Oversight Committee

November 14, 2012

Sean Hamel, Senior Evaluator


HandoutsThe Full Report Today’s Slides

Handouts


Evaluation Team

Carol H. Ripple, Project Lead

Sean Hamel, Senior Evaluator

Jim Horne, Senior Evaluator

Kiernan McGorty, Principal Evaluator

Pamela Taylor, Statistician

Larry Yates, Principal Evaluator


Overview• Program Evaluation Division has issued

several reports on state vehicle management

• Law enforcement vehicles are exempt from certain vehicle management requirements

• This prompted increased interest in vehicles with a law enforcement mission


OverviewSeries on vehicles operated by agencies with a major law enforcement mission

Department DivisionJustice State Bureau of InvestigationPublic Safety State Highway Patrol

Alcohol Law EnforcementState Capitol Police


Overview: Findings

1. Weaknesses in management controls and SBI’s decentralized management structure have resulted in inconsistent oversight

2. SBI has not established clear criteria to guide vehicle replacement planning, assignment, or maintenance

3. SBI collects vehicle data but does not use it to optimize fleet management

Program Evaluation Division North Carolina General Assembly

Overview: Recommendation

Direct the Department of Justice to implement a fleet management

approach

7


Background

8


Previous PED Reports on State-Owned Vehicles

• According to best practices, entities with 200 or more vehicles should engage in fleet management

• Fourteen state agencies with more than 200 vehicles on vehicle management

• On average, agencies met 79% of best practice criteria

9


• Department of Justice (DOJ) met 77% of best management practices

–Ranked 9th of the 14 agencies

• SBI operates 94% of DOJ vehicles so the ranking reflects their practices

10

Previous PED Reports on State-Owned Vehicles


Law Enforcement Vehicles are Different

• Specialized equipment

• May have confidential license plates

• Exempt from Department of Administration oversight

• Exempt from commuting restrictions

11

What do we know about how they are managed and used?


Findings

12


Finding 1. Weaknesses in Management

Controls and SBI’s Decentralized Management Structure Have

Resulted in Inconsistent Oversight

13


384 Vehicles are Operated by Five Divisions within SBI

Within these: 28 units, sections, and districts manage assigned and utility vehicles

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Report p. 5

Field Ops, 177 (46%)

Special Ops, 71 (18%)

Professional Standards, 22

(6%)

Administrative Services, 56

(15%)Crime Lab, 55 (14%)

SBI HQ, 3 (1%)


SBI Vehicle Characteristics

Nearly all assigned vehicles were assigned to sworn law-enforcement employees

15

Assigned, 254 (66%)

Utility, 130 (34%)

Report p. 6

Vehicles are either assigned to individuals or are unassigned “utility” vehicles

SBI Vehicles = 384


SBI Vehicle Management Structure

• Vehicles are seen as tools central to the SBI mission

–They are not considered as a fleet

• Agents have primary responsibility for the vehicle they operate

• 28 section, unit, and district managers oversee vehicle operation

16


Managers Varied in How They Rated the Importance of Oversight

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Report p. 7

Importance of Vehicle

Oversight

Most Important

LeastImportant


Management Controls Need to be Stronger

• Some policies and procedures do not provide adequate guidance for strong fleet management

• Vehicle use and management is not sufficiently monitored

• Data exist, but data integrity is not assured

18

Report p. 8


Finding 2. SBI Has Not Established Clear Criteria to Guide Vehicle Replacement Planning,

Assignment, or Maintenance

19


SBI Lacks Clear Planning Criteria

• Existing guidelines for vehicle acquisition and disposal meet best practices

• But “generally the oldest vehicle gets replaced” does not meet replacement best practices

–Budget constraints do not prevent planning

20

Report pp. 11-13


SBI Needs Clearer Assignment Criteria

• Written justification is required for assigned vehicles

• Existing assignment policies are general and provide examples of duties and appropriate vehicle types

• But 44 of 245 vehicle assignments were not in keeping with current policies

21

Report pp. 13-14


Maintenance is Key to Management, but Oversight was Inconsistent

22

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Perc

enta

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f M

anag

ers

Who

Tra

cked

Mai

nten

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Tracked Did Not Track

37%

Report p. 14

63%


Finding 3. SBI Collects Vehicle Data but Does Not Use it to Optimize Fleet Management

23


Electronic Information Systems Are Critical to Effective Management

• Analyze large volumes of data

• Maintain centralized information for decentralized fleets

• Look at vehicle trends over time

• Strong, data-driven management

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Report p. 16


SBI’s Vehicle Tracking System was Implemented in October 2011

VTS Process

25

Drivers

• Complete Use Logs

Local Managers

• Check Logs

Local Admin Staff

• Enter Logs into VTS

VTSSystem

• Generates Reports

SBI HQ


VTS Reporting Could Be a More Effective Management Tool

Analysis Results

Example 1: Vehicles with high cost per mile

• 16 vehicles identified as high cost• Full-size SUVs cost significantly more

than mid-size SUVs• 7 of 8 of high-cost SUVs were full

size

26


VTS Reporting Could Be a More Effective Management Tool

Analysis Results

Example 2: Monthlyvehicle use

• Average monthly mileage=1,734• 27 vehicles significantly more miles• 28 vehicles significantly fewer miles

27


Recommendation: Direct the Department of Justice to Implement a Fleet Management

Approach

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Modify VTS Reporting and Use

• Set division-wide thresholds for cost and use

• Provide basis for replacement planning

• Review vehicle assignment

• Right-size the vehicle inventory

• Trigger maintenance reminders29


Strengthen Controls and Conduct Internal Vehicle Audits

• Direct the Department of Justice to conduct annual vehicle audits to:

–Test internal controls

– Improve consistency in management oversight across sections, units, and districts

–Provide added assurance of VTS data integrity

30


Clarify Policies and Procedures

• Define vehicle age and mileage thresholds for replacement

• Develop vehicle replacement plan

• Require specific assignment justification

• Develop a maintenance policy across all vehicles

31


Summary• SBI has the building blocks to implement a

more comprehensive approach to fleet management

• Strengthening internal controls, clarifying policies and procedures, and modifying data reports would improve oversight

• Department of Justice should take measure to implement a more comprehensive approach to vehicle management

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Legislative Options

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• Accept the report

• Refer it to any appropriate committees

• Instruct staff to draft legislation based on any of the report’s recommendations


Report available online atwww.ncleg.net/PED/Reports/reports.html

Sean Hamel

[email protected]

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Stronger Reporting and Management Structure Would … · Stronger Reporting and Management Structure Would Improve State Bureau of ... SBI Vehicle Management Structure ... SBI’s